CHEMISTRY & BIOCHEMISTRY - There’s a new nanomaterial on the block. UO chemists have found a way to make carbon-based molecules with a unique structural feature: interlocking rings.

HUMAN PHYSIOLOGY - The world’s top free divers can hold their breath for minutes at a time, embarking on extended underwater adventures without the aid of scuba equipment.

BIOLOGY - Marine plankton exist as the base of most ocean food webs that support and sustain valuable fisheries. Planktonic organisms remain understudied: researchers find them difficult to sample given that their sizes span from less than one micron to meters.

ENGLISH - Helen Southworth was awarded a Social Science and Humanities Research Council of Canada Insight Grant of $180,000 (2018-2023) and, more recently, another from the UK’s Arts and Humanities Research Council (230,000 Pounds (2021-2024), which allows her to continue to work on her collaborative digital humanities project called the Modernist Archives Publishing Project (MAPP).

GEOGRAPHY - The Arctic’s melting glaciers and ice sheets directly cause a rise in sea levels, worsening the effects of storm surges and those associated with coastal erosion. This can have a drastic effect on low-lying coastal communities such as those in western Oregon.

LINGUISTICS - Across the United States, over 65 Native American communities are revitalizing their languages after a period of dormancy without speakers. This process of revitalization is of significant importance and benefit to these communities and the preservation of their cultures.

GEOGRAPHY - The Elliot State Research Forest is home to 93,000 acres of dense forest just north of Coos Bay, Oregon, and is a source of rich biodiversity, providing trees and streams that house endangered species and timber production to support employment in surrounding rural areas. Preserving this rich forest is a priority for the state.

COMPUTER SCIENCE - Earthquakes are often a back-of-the-mind threat for residents of the Pacific Northwest, but nevertheless a growing concern as the years go on. A better understanding of earthquake processes, including nucleation and shaking, and its associated risks to communities, would provide residents with more peace of mind.

ANTHROPOLOGY - Emerging studies suggest that transgender girls may be more likely than other youth to be HIV positive. It also appears that LGBTQIA+ youth and adolescents who may be affected by health inequities may lack resources for prevention and education regarding sexual health and safety.

BIOLOGY - A western wildflower known as the scarlet monkeyflower could demonstrate how key evolutionary traits can help native species adapt to a rapidly changing climate.